When Christ encountered the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well He told her that He can give her water far superior to the one she was constantly drawing to assuage the thirst of her household. (John 4:5-15). The water he said he could give her was living water 'springing up into everlasting life' (John 4:14) as opposed to water that satisfies the body which is destined to die, thus making the well water 'dead water' with a used by date.
In performing its main object of springing up into everlasting life, the living water also heals here and now. It heals the broken hearted, spiritual wounds caused by sin, emotional and physical suffering and defects of the mind. Just before the Saviour returns, the scriptures inform us, "a new spring will appear at the temple in Jerusalem and its waters will flow eastward to the Dead Sea which will be healed of its dead and stagnant condition. The Dead Sea, or any other body of water which is stagnant, is so because of two reasons. First, it has little or no inflow; and second, it has little or no outflow. In its stagnant condition it becomes lifeless water. Since it is not renewed with fresh water, it cannot in turn pass living water onto other streams and bodies of water, nor can it support life within itself". (Larry Keeler,
Living Water or Dead Sea) The spring which will appear at the temple in Jerusalem is symbolic of Christ's power to heal anything that is dead, either spiritually or physically.
When I reflect on the incident at Jacob's well, I feel it is important to understand why the person Christ chose to tell of the living water was this particular woman. His solemn invitation to her, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink", was a plain and open claim of Messiahship. In making this claim he identified himself as the very Jehovah who had promised drink to the thirsty through an outpouring of the Spirit (McConkie,
DNTC, 1:445-46). This is a pretty serious declaration to make since it either meant that he was a blasphemer worthy of death or he was in fact the God of Israel. What is more astonishing is the fact that He made this declaration to a Samaritan woman rather than a person of authority. Surely the latter would have carried much more weight and bring His claim to more prominence. However, as the Saviour proved with subsequent declarations, those in authority were not meek of heart who were willing to accept His claim. In my mind Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman was not by chance. When all of Jewry chose to travel an indirect and longer route from Judea to Galilee rather than go through Samaria, Jesus chose to travel the direct route and sat himself down at Jacob's well at noon having sent his disciples to procure provisions. There are two facts worthy of notice here:
- Samaritans were an impure race, remnants of the 10 tribes who had intermarried with Assyrians and other foreigners and even though they boasted that Jacob was their father, the Jews denied this vehemently and considered them 'more unclean than a Gentile of any other nationality' (Talmage, Jesus the Christ, p. 172). Because of this disdain Samaritans rejected the prophetic writings now known as the Old Testament. The ill-feeling between Jews and Samaritans had been growing for centuries, and at the time of the Saviour's ministry, the feeling between the two parties had grown to intense hatred. It goes without saying that a Jew would not be caught dead speaking to a Samaritan.
- The Saviour knew well the woman who came to draw water from the well. He knew that she had had five husbands and was now living with a man who was not her husband. This was a fallen woman who chose to come to the well in the heat of the day rather than the cool of the morning when it was the custom for women to gather and enjoy social interaction. The timing of her visit to the well emphasized her despised and outcast position. In general Jewish men didn't speak to Jewish women much in public, especially not to ones of ill repute. For a Jewish man to speak to a Samaritan woman in public would have been unheard of. And here is Christ, the Messiah, speaking to a fallen, Samaritan, woman. It is obvious that he was not politically correct on three counts.
Through Jesus's encounter with her, the Samaritan woman became the symbol of the downtrodden and the lowliest of us who can qualify for eternal life. The Saviour came to heal the sick and bind the broken hearted. He did not minister to those who were well and rejected Him in the pride of their hearts. This is why He mixed with the publicans and the sinners. How else could he have demonstrated that His living water could heal us and give us eternal life? When I think of the Samaritan woman and consider His important message, I also see through my 21st century view the Saviour sending a message to the women of our day, a message of healing and hope. A great number of women today feel fragmented and damaged having been divorced, widowed, abandoned or simply ignored by the opposite sex. Among the damaged are women who have been embroiled in sin, abused and enslaved in oppression. Perhaps they are all depicted in this Samaritan woman. No doubt having had five husbands came at a price. We who live in this modern world where so much suffering abounds feel the oppression of sin, affliction, hardship and temptation. Some of us are barely keeping our heads above the water and some of us are scraping up sludge of dry wells.
In all our suffering and stumbling in the dark we tend to turn to the ways of the world to fill us. Sometimes we get so blinded by the glare of this world that we dive headlong into Jacob's well eager to assuage our thirst with that which does not satisfy, benefit or fulfill us. We seek for the corruptible things of this earth that have no lasting power to fill our cracks, heal our sorrows and make up for our lack. We think that this dismal telestial world has treasures to offer us that will somehow make us whole. The truth is that the lustre of this world can only be seen during the day. When the night falls, the emptiness is still there, the pain exposed, the suffering unbearable.
Drawing water from a well used to be a thankless and miserable daily burden designated to women. Water is heavy, hard to pull out of a well and carry home, much like the cares of this world. The water the Samaritan woman drew out of the well was dead heavy water of this earth representing the burdens of this world. If you would but drink from the fountain of living water you would not thirst anymore for you would be filled with that which matters most, that which is lasting, that which will speak peace to the deepest recesses of your soul. Then the suffering will be bearable and even conquerable. Then the lack will not matter and the cracks will diminish and fade. Then you can look forward to the living water within you springing up into everlasting life. Then you can be filled with hope and happiness believing Him who has said, "....eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9). He can give all this to you. Be filled and thirst no more.
"Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonder of your Eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and the morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever!" (D&C 128:23)
